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Be A More Productive Property Investor · The Property Unleashed Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: How to improve your productivity on a daily basis.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Hello, my name's Mark Fitzgerald.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: It's great to have you joining me here today, so I'm gonna go through a few little hacks today on how you can improve your productivity, because we all only have so much time each and every day and sometimes time just seems to drift past us.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: But a lot of the time we get to the end of the day and sometimes we're not as happy as, potentially, we want to be, we're not as fulfilled as we want to be.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Why?
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Because maybe we procrastinated, maybe we've just not done what we thought or hoped that we were going to try and do.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Now sometimes we've got to be.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Why?
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Because maybe we procrastinated, maybe we've just not done what we thought or hoped that we were going to try and do.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Now, sometimes you've got to be honest.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Life does get in the way.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: If you have a family, or even if you don't have a family, you have a very busy schedule.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: Sometimes you just can't get done all of the things that you want to do.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: But if you go through these five different productivity hacks that I'm going to share with you today, get to the end of the day, ask yourself a question Did I act on my most important task this day and give yourself an honest answer, you will start to find where things are going a little bit off.
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: So, firstly, you have to make sure that you prioritize the tasks that you want to achieve.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: Okay, you're going to start your day by identifying the most important tasks that need to be completed that day or that week.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean, because sometimes you'll have an important task, but maybe you need somebody else or something else to happen.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: But the things that you can control, you've got to make sure that you've got all those steps done up to that point.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: So you need to be focusing on completing these tasks before moving on to any less critical tasks.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: Answering emails, unless they're an email that actually helps you with that task, isn't helping you.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Scrolling social media, unless you are looking for something specific to help you with your big task, isn't great.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: So, for me, I like to look at my energy levels.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: My energy levels are great in the morning.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: They tailor off a bit in the evening.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Sometimes, though, I have to do talks at night.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Sometimes I have to go out and do viewings at night as well, so I'll make sure that I keep my energy levels plateaued during the course of the day, so that I've got a bit more energy at the end of the day as well.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: So make sure that you know yourself.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: If you're an early bird like me, then make sure that you have those most important tasks to be done as early as you can get to them, rather than leaving them till later, when we can then talk ourselves out of doing them.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: But you have to make sure that you've written everything down and that you know exactly what it is that you should be doing.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: So I always think that you shouldn't start a week until you've ended a week.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Ok, and what do I mean by that?
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Well, at the end of last week, I wrote down all the things that I want to achieve this week to help me get to my bigger goal of building my businesses, of building my portfolio, and, of course, I have all of those jotted down.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: I then give them a number.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: So what do I need to?
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: I need to speak to those agents.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: I need to speak to those.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: I need to do those viewings.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: I need to get out there, I need to do this, I need to do that.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: That's a number one, because it's all me.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: Nobody else can do those things.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: What is a number two?
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Well, I need to make sure that I'm checking my email, staying on top of my social media accounts as well, seeing if anybody's DMing me, if there's any opportunities out there.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: But it's not a critical thing that's moving my goals forward.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: That is just something that I need to get done and potentially I can ask either my VA or my PA to have a little look at those on my behalf, if need be.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: So they're a number two.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: Now, number threes are what I go down and they are what I call your procrastination nightmares, because they are the things that a lot of people will get caught up in.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: You'll get caught up in your number threes and again, that could be scrolling through social media, scrolling through portals, looking for property deals, not really being specific.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: What I tend to do is I find myself on your right moves Next minute.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: I'm looking at 10, 20 million pound properties and imagining myself living there, which is all good fun, don't deny it.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: We've all been there and done it, which is all good and well, but it's got a time and a place, and it should be when my energy levels are high and I should be getting my main tasks done.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: Number two you have to have made sure, before you start this, that you've set your goals.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: You've established clear and achievable goals for the long term, but equally for that week.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: What is it that I'm trying to achieve and get done by the end of this week and then potentially even break it down further if you can and it takes a bit of practice to having a goal each day that you can tick off to say I've done that.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Breaking down larger tasks into smaller, actionable tasks that are more manageable is an amazing thing to do and, equally, it will keep you motivated.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: It will keep you on track.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: There is something very satisfying of saying I've got three things.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: I try and set myself three things to do no more now.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: I used to try five and stuff like that, but I try and do nothing else.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Three things, if nothing else one.
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: One of those things has to be ticked off for me to be winning the day, but I try and do three.
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: Okay, I have my most important at number one.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Then, secondly, once that's done, I'll move on to number two.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Or I've got a problem with that first task.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: I can't complete it anymore because I'm waiting for somebody to get back to me, I'll move on to number two, and number three is there to get done.
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: But those are the three things to do and of course they'll roll over.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: So if I do only get one thing done, then two will move up to number one, the next day number three, and then I'll look on my list right what's going to be my new number three?
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: Because number three's moved up to number two, if that makes sense.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: So make sure that you've got all of this.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: You keep it simple.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: You break your tasks down into actionable chunks.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: You think of the compound effect, a great book by Darren Hardy, where basically you break things down and each and every day you are compounding on top of each other to get the results that you want, so that by the time you get to maybe the end of the year you can say to yourself I've come such a long way, I've learned so much, I've built so much.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: We're moving in the right direction.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: It's that accomplishment.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: If you knew in 12 months time you'd have the property business that you desired, if you started taking those actionable steps now, started maybe going through that training, breaking it down, learning the modules and things like that and by the end of it.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: You take action on those tasks, on that training, you would have the property business that you desire in 12 months time.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: You do it.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: The problem we have is that we cannot see it all the time, right here, right now.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: Some people can.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: Some people will see off into the future and say I can see that.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: I can see in 12 months time I'm going to have the property business that I desire and that is great.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: That is absolutely amazing in most cases.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: But a lot of us can't see it.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: A lot of us haven't got the confidence in ourselves just yet, because with knowledge comes confidence.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: What you will find is, when you do not know how to do something, you're not very confident in it, are you?
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: But when you know how to do something, it starts to give you that confidence.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: So you know how to go out there, you know how to speak to landlords, how to speak to agents.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: You start to build up that confidence.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: You start to be able to see the future.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: As I say, some people can see it very early on because they've got a lot of confidence in themselves and some people haven't.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: When I started out, I wanted that future.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: I knew I had to take those steps.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: I had to be consistent and persistent each and every day to get the results that I wanted, but I knew I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: Did I truly, at that time, believe that I'd get and build the business that I have today?
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Maybe, maybe not Thinking back now, I just wanted it.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: I had that desire.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: Ok, I didn't know that I I didn't really know, actually, that I would be where I am today.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: I just hoped that I would, ok, but that was what kept me going and, of course, my why, which was proven to my children and my family that I can go out there and do anything that I say I'm going to do, was another massive stepping stone for me to be able to do this.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: You need to tap into that yourself, but you need to obviously have those goals to be able to do so.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: Remember, short-term pain for long-term gain is what it's all about.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: Make sure you surround yourself with like-minded people who can help and support you on your journey.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: Okay, number three it's about time management.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: Now, this is something I have really had to work on massively.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: I have to use time-blocking techniques.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: I have to allocate specific time on my diary time slots for different tasks to avoid a multitasking.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: You don't want to be trying to do loads of different things at once because chances are you won't do anything very, very well.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: I need one thing to try and focus on Give it 20, 25 minutes, maybe 60 minutes max.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: Hit it, get it done out the way.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: Otherwise I start procrastinating, I start trying to reschedule things, I start trying to have other distractions and of course, there's so many distractions out there now that I cannot keep my focus on what I'm doing.
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: So I schedule in time.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: I use Google Calendar as my schedule.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: If Google Calendar says to me, mark, you need to be sat in front of the camera doing a video for the Property Unleashed or a podcast, as we are, you might be listening to this then that is what I'm doing.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: If it's not in there, I wouldn't be doing this right here, right now.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Why?
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Because I schedule everything and I stick to that schedule.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: Now some people say to me well, that's boring.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: I mean, I couldn't do that.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: I can't think of anything worse.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: Do you know what?
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: By actually having a rigid schedule, I feel freer than I've ever felt in my life, because I know where I need to be and I schedule in fun, I schedule in family time, I schedule in rest and all of those sort of things.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: We'll touch on that in a second.
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: But I make sure that I schedule in my most important tasks as well, and that way then my team can see my calendar.
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: They will not disturb me when it's my one priority task that I'm trying to do.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: They'll get hold of me afterwards.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: They can see when I'm available, when I'm not available, and it works very, very well for me.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: So start implementing that into your life now.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: Number four is remember to take breaks.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: Regular breaks can improve productivity.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: Sometimes we get so caught up three or four hours in front of a desk, in front of a laptop, in front of a computer, trying to do something where sometimes, when we've got a problem, the best thing you can do is go and have a walk 10, 15 minute walk, if you can do.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: Come back to it.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: I bet you solve that problem straight away.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: Give your brain a chance to relax.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: Forget about it a minute, because it'll still be ticking over, it'll still be working and chances are you'll actually find the answer to the problems that you're trying to seek out or to solve.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: Okay, you also want to make sure that you prevent burnout by constantly, constantly being on the go all the time, trying to do everything all the time, you will eventually burn yourself out.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: I again have people say to me I'll never burn out, mark, I love property, investing it's the greatest thing ever.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: I'm never going to burn out.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: Then I see them six months down the line and they are pale, they're drawn, they're looking tired, they're like oh, I still love property, I still love it, and they're burning themselves out.
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: It's not healthy.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: So make sure you have good breaks.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: Make sure you have weekends away where you can, weekend breaks.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: Try and switch off from it all.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: I have my best ideas when I actually get out of the office, get out there and I just walk around the fields.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: We've got some.
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: You know we're very fortunate where we are, but of course, get yourself out into the opportunity.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: Do that, but just, even if it's just five minutes, go and have a cup of coffee, cup of tea or something like that.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: Stand outside if you can, or on a some short breaks to really, really help you, and of course, this will help you recharge.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: This will help you maintain mental clarity throughout the rest of the day and the tasks that you're trying to do At number five.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: It is all about practicing self-care and looking after yourself.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: The number one asset in any business, particularly if it's your business is you, you, okay.
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: So you need to make sure that you are looking after yourself.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: Again, this is something that I've had to work at because I was always go, go, go, forget about Mark.
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: I'll deal with Mark later on.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: I'll make sure I've got a healthy diet.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: I'll make sure I'm putting my steps in.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: I'll make sure I'm exercising.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: Right now it's priority.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: I want to get as much money in as possible and I've realized that as very short-sighted.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: No point in being the richest grave in the yard, so to speak.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: The richest grave in the graveyard, the richest person in the graveyard Absolutely no point whatsoever.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: So make sure that you are prioritizing yourself on your schedule.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: I have.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: Make sure that you are prioritizing yourself on your schedule.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: I have some healthy habits.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: I like to drink three liters of water a day.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: I like to get a liter of water down in me in the first hour of my day.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: I like to exercise.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: So I go out for walks twice a day.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: I will walk the dog twice a day, once in the morning, once in the afternoon.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: I will also go to the gym three times a week and I will also get on my peloton and have a little pedal on that bad boy on different days as well.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Trust me, if I'm feeling really, really fatigued and life really really is quick and getting strenuous, then maybe I will adjust those slightly to make sure that I don't burn myself out.
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: But I'm trying to make sure that I become as fit as possible.
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: Why?
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: Because it helps my productivity, it helps my focus, helps me build my businesses and, of course, you need to make sure as well that you're getting adequate sleep.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: Sleep is massive.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: If somebody says I don't need much sleep, I only have about five hours a night, it'll catch up with you at some point.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: Now some people only need about six hours sleep.
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: Some people need a bit more.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: Try to make sure that your sleep is quality.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: Okay, it's not always about the quantity of sleep.
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: Somebody could live on six hours sleep, but their quality of sleep is absolutely amazing, and how you actually set that up is how you wind down before you go to bed.
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: So make sure you've got yourself a notebook handy so you can brain dump anything that's rattling around in your head that you think well, as soon as I go to bed I might start thinking about that.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: You get that out of your head.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: Make sure that you switch off your screens, if you can.
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: Potentially, I try and read for the last half an hour before I go to bed.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: I do try where I can to read a book.
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: Sometimes it makes me actually feel quite sleepy as well, but it stops me looking at phones, looking at TV screens and all of those sort of things, and I find I have the best night's sleep.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: I have an aura ring as well which tracks and monitors my sleep as well, so I can review what works for me and what doesn't work for me.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: Ok, because your well-being your physical and mental well-being can significantly, significantly impact your productivity levels, and you've got to make sure that you are in tip-top form when it comes to building your own businesses.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: So I hope these five hacks have helped you.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: I hope that you can take something from this episode and start incorporating it.
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: Sometimes I used to listen to episodes like this and try and incorporate all five straight away.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: I'd say, just take one, one thing that you resonate with and start incorporating it and if it's helped, you reach out to me and let me know it has.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: I'm all over social media Facebook, instagram, linkedin.
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: You'll know who I am, mark Fitzgerald.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: Just friend me, dm me, ask me any questions.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: If we can help and support you, of course, check out thepropertyunleashedcom.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: We have free tools and resources, training guides and things like that there.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: We have training programs as well and we have coaching to help you every step of the way with your property, investing in your well-being, in your life and, of course, getting you moving in the right direction to build the property business that you desire.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: If we can help you in any way, then reach out to us and we will help you.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: Take care and I'll see you all very, very soon.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: Bye for now.